"It's not a legal issue, it's not a community issue, it's not a health issue, it's all of those together and I think we have to all work together."

The chair of the National Rural Health Alliance, Professor Lesley Barclay agrees.

"Rural issues are different. If you've got a small community that decides to take action, you can take action. It's harder in a big city. There's less sense of community... less sense of community leadership," she says.

"If people get behind something and you've got good leadership and people are supportive they can make massive changes."